Sound-recording machine



Oct. 31, 1933. A. F. SYKES SOUND RECQRDING MACHINE Filed Oct. 27, 1928 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Q MM Oct. 31, 1933. I SYKES 7 1,933,457

SOUND RECORDING MACHINE Filed Oct. 27, 1.928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Oct. 31 1933 i SOUND-RECORDING MAGHINE I Adrian. Francis. Sykes, New Barnet,. England Application October. 27,1928; Serial No; 315,508,v

andin; Great: Britain October- 31,1927,

11 Claims. (01. 274113')1 This invention relates to soundrecording, machines and its primary purpose: is to provide an improved traversing gear' for such machines for the purpose of engraving spirals or screws on rotating record blanks. The usual meansadopted for this purpose involve a master lead screw' driven by gearing from the spindle rotating blank; Except with superfine workmanship and very 1 careful treatmentthe slow-feed corresponding to IO the usual fine thread isliabl'e'to produce uneven spacing and in any case if the weight of the carriage and associated parts is great this system of The feed can be superseded withaadvantage;

present invention provides an entirely different thread are obtained.

According to this invention the feed carriageis traversed by means, or under the control, of a hydraulic cylinder. A- considerable head and a so. cylinder of large diameter are used in conjunc-E tion with asmall control orifice for-thepassageof the liquid, so that variations in the resistance of the feed carriage may havea negligible effect on the rate of feed; for'wi'th' a small resistance the rate of feed is almost entirely controlled by the area of the control orifice and if the resista-nce suddenly increases the slight [lag of the piston causes the pressure in the' cylind'er to build up practically instantaneously and with thehigh total available pressure is so great that ordinary variations of resistance will have noper'ceptible efiect on the feed rate, A practical arrangementconsistsof a cylinder having a bore of about three inches and a piston stroke of about six inches. Ahead of water of some thirty feet obtained from a cistern supplies the pressure necessary to- 'force water into the cylinder through afi'ne orifice in a metal plate. The diameter of this hole controls thev rate of"- feed and for normal working is about that of a common household: pin. By using a series ofmethod whereby a very powerful-feed and even head and large diameter above referred to' the of the sound lines where required. 'Strietlyspeaking an anticipation of one revolution is necessary. 5 It is desirable tointerpose a filter between the water supply and the orifice since these-fine holes are very liable tobecome-obstructed, while provision ismade toexpel any air which maycollect. in the. cylinder. A v The forces available for'the feed are very con"- 1 siderabl'e: for with the sizes above mentioned,

togarrest completely the motion wouldrequirc nearly a hundred pounds'in the-present instance and-- this figure could be increased if' desired. Consequently with a freely moving; carriage even if of considerable weight there is ample margin :of" force and no blackl'ash in the" absence of ,air;

The: piston is made a nice sliding fit and can be lubricated by the watersolel'y'if made of gunmetal and sliding in a cylinder ofsimilar material but packing rings and oil lubrication are optional.

It is moreover known that simultaneously-with theabove mentioned wider spacing of the threads the depth of cut may be increased and the two mechanisms may he mechanically linked up so that for the greater spacing there-isa corresponding increase in the depth of out. A convenient way-of carrying thisinto efiect is to mount the turntable mechanism on an axis and provide means'to-tilt the turntable slightly 'as the needle valve opens. This tilt permits the engraving. stylus to penetrate'further into the wax where the I floating weight and slide ball system is used. When the engraving is completea run out tola finishingcirclc" may be secured by opening a port and as hereinafter explained so creating a very coarse spiral terminating in acontinuous groove as is the usual procedure. Therecording' finished a quick'return motion is obtained by means of an exhaust valve and siphon pipe. A further convenience consists of aset screw engaged with the piston rod whereby the "carriage can be moved independently of the piston andre-engaged atany time.

Where it is important forthe-screw cut to correspond to a standard screw, as for i'nst'ancewhen 1 the record is to be reproduced on afeed screw machine, amaster feed carriage may be provided which, if the main carriage-doesnot register propv erlyat any point of the feed, opens or' closes the mainvalve or an auxiliary valve and so prevents anyconsi'derabl'e deviation.

f The case of adjustment of'the feeding system prop'osedmakes it very adaptable foruse in con-- junction with engraving cutters of various types.

Thus witha tool designed to cut a groove of com 11b? 35,. nections used for a coarse finishing spiral.

ure 4 isa plan view of the apparatus for tilting stant width notwithstanding a small change of depth but provided with a curved or V shaped point to facilitate the tracking of the reproducing stylus it is possible to arrange the rate of feed to be a trifle less than appropriate to the width of the cutter and in this way avoid the beadlike formation characteristic of ordinary hill and dale recording. An approximation to uniform width is obtained. by double V configuration of cutter (C (shown diagrammatically in Figure 6a) immersed in the wax to a depth greater than the first V it being understood that the function of this latter is to locate the reproducing stylus and consequently this first V is replaceable by a rounding if desired 0 as shown in Figure 6b.

The present invention may with advantage/be used in recording machines for making those disc records in which a constant linear-speed under the stylus is employed and where in consequence the rate of revolution and rate of feed-increase as the centre is approaohed- For thispurpose the main valve or an auxiliary valve is controlled by the same mechanism as that which controls the rate of revolution, if necessary through cams,

25., linkages or other devices for obtaining the correctrate of change of feed speed.

,An embodiment of-a recording machine :for disc records is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings ;;Figures 1and 2 show the recording machine, r

spectively, in plan and side elevation. Figure 3'is a longitudinal sectional view through the .hy-.

,Figure 5 is a half-sectional front elevation of said apparatus of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a view partlyin elevation and partly in section showing apparatus for effecting a corelation of the spacing of the grooves with the depth ,.of cut in the wax.

J Figures 6a and 6b are fragmentary elevations of different forms of cutters which may be employed.

Figure '7 is atop plan View of the apparatus il-- 5() lustrated in Figure 6, certain parts being removed in the interest of clear illustration.

. Figure 8 is a sectional View of a multiple orifice controldevice andvalves therefor. These figures all relate to one machine but they are not neces- 5 5 sarily complete in detail.

, From the general arrangement set out in Fig ures land 2it will be seen that a base plate 1 carries the whole ofthe mechanism and that the hydraulic cylinder 2 serves to support oneqof eo the three rails 3 upon which the carriage 4 rides.

Flanged wheels 5 engage with the rails. The carriage is provided with across member 6 supporting the recording device 7 above the turntable8. Oilor water under pressureis fedto the'cylinder via the orifice or needle valve which ishoused in the chamber 9 and is ejected on completion of the stroke through the exhaust port 10 which is controlled by: arr-exhaust valve 10a interposed between the exhaust port 10 and a siphon dia- ,,gramm.aticallyshown at 10b which serves to draw the water out of the cylinder when it is, desired to effect a return stroke of the piston. The carriage is provided with vertical pillars 11 attached to. a boom 12 having a central hole into which the piston rod 13 projects and in Which it may the machine base as at 46.

be clamped by means of the thumbscrew 1.4. This arrangement enables the carriage to be moved independently of the piston rod. An indicator to be hereinafter described is attached to the carriage and may be calibrated to show the distances allowed for testing purposes and for actual record-.

ing. To provide for incidental leakage the cylinder 2 is mounted on an emplacement 39 surrounded by a sump or channel 38 communicating with a drain.

The hydraulic cylinder is shown in section in Figure 3 and is so formed that the rail 3 which projects to the front may be machined from the material of thecylinder. Lugs 15 and 16 are provided for fixing the cylinder to the base plate. In order to facilitate the escape of air the cylinder is counterbored as is also the cylinder cover 47 in such fashion that the greatest diameter occurs at the junction 17 and a channel 40 is cut from this junction to the exhaust port 10. The liquid is passed through a filter 19 and entersv the cylinderthrough aneedle valve or other regulating device housed in the fitting 9 screwed into the inlet port 18. Where a needle valve is used the flow of liquid is regulated by the screw 2%. The piston has an accurate sliding fit in the cylinder and can be Worked without any rings or packing. For. the sake of flexibility the piston rod 13 is reduced at .41 and 42 and consequently alignment is not so important. I have found that with a bronze cylinder and a plain piston, that is to say without any packingthe use of tap water is quite satisfactory and no lubrication is required.

:As best shown in Figures 4 and 5 the turntable 8 shown in dot and dash lines and its associated driving motor 50 shown in dot and dash lines are carried by the cradle 22 pierced at 44 to receive the turntable motor, said cradle 22 being pivoted at 23 and 24 to the frame 25 so that the cradle -may rock about these-pivots and be regulated by the thumbscrew 26 the motor 50 being secured to the table to one side of the line connecting the pivots 23 and 24. I have found that an unsymmetrical location of the drivingmotor suffices to keep the cradle hard up against the adjustment screw, but otherwise of course a spring would be provided. r The frame is providedwith a lug at 2 and a webbed member28 projecting from the opposite. side underneath, the end of which Webbed member together with the aforesaid lug engages with a vertical rody29 which in turn is fixed by means of a cleat 45 and by a hole in The cleat 45 is fixed by two screws'to the upright projection 43 which latter is machined on, its top surface to form the slide rail 3. A ball 31 pressed on to the stop 32 by a'strong spring 33- serves to prevent rotation of the frame 25 about the spindle '29. In an alternative arrangement this'ball and plate are replaced by a lug attached to the frame 25 similarto the existing lug 27 sliding over a short fixed shaft secured to the upright projection 30.

Thisalternative arrangement will be readily appreciated from the construction of Figures 4 and 5, the right hand sides of which may be, regarded as showing one of two similar mountings;

. As will be seen from the said Figures 4 and 5, the

lug 2'7 engages avertical rod.29 fixed by means of a cleat 45 and by a hole in the machine base as at 46. In place of the ball 31 and stop 32 there would be provided in this alternative ar rangernent a lug 27 on the left hand side, said lug engaging with a vertical rod fixed by a cleat and by a hole in the machine base so as to be positionedwith respect to the part exactly as the part 29 is. positioned with respect to the part 43.

The whole structure designed to support the motor and turntable rests on the pointof a screw engaging with a hardened plate on the underside of the member 28. Thus by turning the wheel 36 the screw 35 which has a sliding fit in a hole bored in thecross bar 37 raises or'lowers the turntable and associated parts. As re cording blanks vary in thickness,.if for no other reason than invirtue of repeated shaving, an indicator which can be swung into position over the surface of the blank is a useful adjunct for rapid replacement of blanks without disturbing the setting of the recording stylus.

An illustrative embodiment of this feature is shown in Figures -1 and 2' andconsists of a dummy stylus 51 mounted onthe end of a swingingiarm 52 journaled as at 53 on the carriage 4 so as to swing about a vertical axis. The dummy stylus should preferably be [adjustable in the arm and, as illustrated, has threaded engagement with the arm. A set screw 54 servesto lock the dummy stylus in adjusted position. It. will be apparent that such an indicator may be adjusted so that it just engages the surface of a record blank when that blank is in; the correct position to be recorded upon by the recording jewel. During recording the indicator is of course swung out of the way. When. a new blank is put in position the indicator is swungback and should the new blankbe of different thickness the position, of

the turntable is, adjusted until the blank just en.-

gages the indicator. The indicator is thenswung aside and recording is commenced. I

Where it is desired to. correlatethe spacing of the grooves with the'depth of'cutinthe wax,

which may be desirable for hill and dalerecord ing, the screw 26 may be connectedv to the valve wheel 20 to rotate in unison therewith,'; so that the spacing may be increased when the depth or cut is increased without makingseparate adjustments. In the construction illustrated in Figures 3 and 5, a Bowden wire 55 passing through a tube 56 supported by brackets 57 and 58 on thevalve 9 and the frame 25 respectively, is connected at its'opposite ends to the valve wheel 20 and the screw 26: respectively. Thus,

' when the valve wheel, or the screw is turned, the other will be simultaneously turned and the de-- sired correlated adjustment effected.

An elaborationof this plan, consists in a delayed action of the depth control relative to the spacing control. This may be brought about by an operating key which hasfa long. stroke the first part of which opens further the, needle valve and leaves it open, while the end of the stroke increases the depth of cut by tilting the turnitableabout the pivots 23 and 24. This tilt of the turntable is enabled to influence the depth of cut by the device of setting the slide ball or shoe of the recorder to the rear of the stylus. A construction embodying this feature is illustrated in Figures 6 and 7, in which is shown a bracket 59 securedto the valve 9, and provided with an apertured boss 60 in which is journaled a stem 61 fast with a wheel 62, disposed directlyover the valve wheel 20. The Bowden wire 55 is secured to the stem 61 and is connected atits other end to the screw 26. An operating key 62' is mounted to slide past the wheels 20 and '62 in a guide 63 formed in a bracket 64 secured to the cylinder as at 65. The key 62 is provided with wheel engaging portions 66 and 67' adapted to engage thewheels 20 and162 respectively, the

come; disengaged from the wheel 20, whereby the valve Will'remain open, and finally the portion 67 will engage the wheel 62- and. rotate this wheel and the screw26.

Considerations of, the effect of tilting the recording stylus in the instance of a V-shaped jewel show it 'to be preferable to employ a turntable swivelled about an. axis parallel to the line of feed of the carriage, but it is not necessary inall cases that the turntable be swivelled about an axis arranged inthis way.

I have referredt'o the use of a'needle valve for obtaining variations of thread either for a particular recording or during the. process of recording but a ,set of orifices of suitable diameters arranged to be ,either'fully open or quite closed is' a practical alternative. Thus the normal thread may be out while using the ordinary workorifice, a second orifice ordinarily closed by a valve provides for a thread spaced sayrdouble the number of lines to the inch when the work 'ing. orifi'ceis still free, while a third and comparatively' large orifice-is brought into play to form. the spiral leading to thelabel enclosed groove at the end' of the recording when all the orificeswould be closed 'or the gear mechanically disconnected. The valve spindles. would pass through packed glands and .would. be readily adaptable for operation by cams, keys or by re-' mote control.

A. construction. for: effecting 2. in, placeof. the valve '9. The casingis formed with: an inlet chamber 70, an outlet chamber this alternative mode of operation is shown in Figure 8, in which is shown. a casing 69 mounted on the cylinder 711,. and with three valve bores '22, 73, and 74 in which-are mountedplug valves '75, 76, and

7.7 respectively. The valve plugs are provided with passages. 78 adapted to register with inlet ports '79 and with outlet ports which communi cate with the chamber '71 by means of orifices 80, 81 and 82 which increase in size in the order in which they are numbered.

The operation of the whole device is as followst-Arecording blank is placed upon the I turntableB and the recording jewel which is car- I 'ried in the usual way in or as part of the device 7 is suitably positioned for example near the edge of the blank'so as to commencecutting the record groove in the desired plate. The adjust ments 26 and 20 are then set togivethe desired spacing of the grooves and depth of cut 'in the wax, the turntable motor is started and pressure is admitted to the cylinder 2, the thumbscrew 14 being for the moment left loose. When the piston has been allowed to move a certain distance so that the hydraulic part of the apparatus has become .steady the thumbscrew 14 is clamped and the movement of the piston within the cylinder 2 is therefore communicated to the carriage iwhich moves accordingly across 7 the record blank at. a speed determined by the speed of the piston. It will be observed that the jewel which moves with thecarriage 4 will cut After the first few rotations of the spiral groove have been out without any recording, electricalimpulses corresponding to sound to be recorded are fed to the recording device '7 and the jewel accordingly cuts the usual sound trace.

A coarse finishing spiral may be obtained as heretofore stated by providing a special port which can be opened when the recording is finished and whereby the speed of traverse under the recording'tool can be increased. Such a structure is shown in Figure 3a where the parts 9, l9 and 4'? correspond to the equivalently numbered parts in FigureB. In this device, a branch pipe BP, under control of a manually operable valve BV leads to an extra port CP in the cylinder head. When this port CP is opened, fluid is bypassed around the needle valve and the speed of traverse is increased to give a-coar'se,

finishing spiral.

Figure 1 shows one of the many ways in which the screw cut may be made to correspond to a standard screw. In this figure, a worm wheel WW is provided on the same shaft as the turn-- table, which worm wheel drives a worm W. The movement of the worm W is through bevel wheels BW to rotate -a screw shaft SL upon which is mounted a master carriage MC which isin effect a nut and guided and prevented from turning or rotating by a guide G. On the main carriage is mounted a pair of suitable contacts F6 and F0 in insulated relation, and the master carriage MC carries a short insulated contact MO which is normally positioned between the contacts "FC and F0 If the main carriage travels faster than the master carriage MC upon the screw shaft SL, the contacts F0 and MO touch one another, while if it travels slower, the contacts F0 and MO touch one another. The contacts F0 and FC and MO constitute a reversing switch by means of which reversible polarity may be appliedthrough lines L and L to actuate. an electrically controlled valve EV (Figure 3a) inserted in a small bypass pipe AB connected'to the cylinder head. In this way, if the main carriage travels too fast, the valve EV is moved in a closing direction while if it travels too slow, the valve is moved in an opening direction. So long as the speed is correct, the contacts F0 F0 and MO all remain out of engagement with one another and the valve EV is not operatedic. it remains in whatever position it may be.

I claim:-

1. A sound record machine 1 or engraving spirals on sound-recording blanks having traversing gear movable for engraving said spirals on the sound-recording blanks, av hydraulic transmission mechanism, and means to effect the traveling movement of said gear by drive force transmitted through and by means of said hydraulic transmission mechanism.

2. A sound record machine for engraving spirals on sound-recording blanks having traversing gearmovable for engraving said spirals on the sound-recording blanks, a hydraulic transmission mechanism containing a fluid, and means to effect the traversing movement of said gear by drive force transmitted throughand by means of the fluid of said hydraulic transmission mecha nism.

3. Traversing gearhaving a record table, a motor, a cradle, means mounting the record table and motor for tilting in the cradle on an axis parallel with the record table, a screw to adjust the cradle, and means to urge the cradle to and maintain the cradle in adjusted positions.

4. In a sound record machine for engraving spiralsonsound-recording blanks, a carrier for a blank, recording cutting means, traversing gear for traversing said carrier relative to said cutting means, and means to effect the traversing movement of said gear by movement in opposite directions.

5. In a sound record'machine for engraving:

spirals on. sound-recording blanks, a carrier for a blank, recording cutting means, traversing gear for "traversing said carrier relative to said cutting means, and means f or supplying and 'exhaust-' ingan operating medium thereto to thus oppositely move the-traversing gear.

6. A sound record machine for engraving spirals on soundre cording blanks comprising a carrienior a blank, a recording device having a recording cutter, means forfcausing relative rotary motion between said carrier and said cutterv 8. A sound record machine according to claim 6 having a feed adjustment with settings.

94A sound record machine according to claim 6 having means for adjustment of the feed, and

I two definite means whereby said adjustment also effects iad- 1 justment of the depth of cut.

10. Asound record machine according to claim 6 including a carriage and means to effect a quick return of the carriage by the aid of an exhaust valve and siphon. n l

11. A sound record machine according to claim 6 having a traversing carriage, said hydraulically driven means having a cylinder and piston, and

a a rod connected to the piston,'said rod being locally reduced to render it slightly flexible.

ADRIAN FRANCIS SYKES. 

